Wednesday, August 02, 2006
Day 45 - Liverpool, NY - August 2nd 2006
Weather: Sunny AM, very Humid, Afternoon thunderstormsLocation: Liverpool, NY (from Henrietta, NY)
Miles per day: Planned 88, Actual 97.6
Average miles per hour: 13.81
Elevation climb: Very little
Blizzards/Ice Cream to date: 31 (no more DQs!)
Flat Tires to date: 1
An unexpectedly long but great day! With the completion of our trip imminent, we are savouring every minute of everyday. There is not only natural beauty but so many works of original and intriguing art displays along the way. This mural brightened up a run down town and my spirits as I could not help but hang out with these fellas.We started with some mayhem consisting of detours and road construction. After yesterday's excursion, I was adamant that I was not budging an inch in the wrong direction. So I watched several of the 'fast' riders head in a direction I was not so sure about. As they were the 'fast' riders, my strategy was simple: let them go (over the hill),
turn around and come back. If they weren't back in 10 minutes, I would know they were right. It all worked according to plan. Sure enough, they came barrelling back past me. I saved myself a wrong turn today!Our route was along the historic and beautiful Erie Canal. The Erie Canal was the brainstorm of a jailed convict in the 1807. Construction of the 363 mile canal began in 1817, was completed in 1925 and within 10 years, had over 3000 boats in service. It connects the Atlantic Ocean with the Great Lakes (via Albany to Buffalo). A six week trip of travel was slashed to just 10 days!
To fully appreciate the Eric Canal, we took the optional bike path, which was gravel, a bit rough riding but well worth the 14 miles of tranquil and beautiful scenery. It slowed us down quite a bit and took some extra energy (with extra mileage)but I was well pleased we had the Erie Canal experience. At one point, we watched a boat
navigate through the Canal System. Interestingly, to encourage more tourist, the Canal Locks are free for leisure use. Looks like it could be a fun vacation.This part of New York also is the source of much American religious history. In the Palmyra, Joseph Smith founded the Mormon Church as well as it is now the site of the only street corner in America that has a church on every corner. Each of the towns are very pretty, almost village like. A few have suffered economic tragedy such as Port Byron.
The weather turned on us at about the 67 mile mark in the town of Port Byron. We took cover in an abandoned building in the
centre of town (see photo - Stu waits it out) and ended up falling asleep while the thunder clouds passed. Following that, we pumped out another 30 miles to arrive in Liverpool on the outskirts of Syracuse, NY.Patriotism has been running high across America. The flag can be found in the most unusual places - on mailboxes, farm call boxes, gas tanks - you name it. This one really was an outstanding piece of work (in the rural parts of New York with very little nearby).
